Yay! A new cardigan!! Here’s a summary:

Dec. 2007 - made the Hourglass Raglan
Dec. 2008 - changed it to an Equinox Yoke Pullover
Gorgeous, won 1st place at the MN State Fair, yet…
Never worn.
August 2013 - machine sewed a steek down the front, cut the steek
October 2013 - picked up and knit buttonbands, sewed on buttons
and voila! A new cardigan! Only took 6 years :)

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This sweater started out as an Hourglass Sweater. Then, because it turned out I didn’t like the square-ish neckline, I went whole hog and turned it into an Equinox Pullover. This turned out awesome and actually took first place at the MN State Fair, yet since I so rarely wear full pullovers and have discovered that yoke sweaters don’t look all that great on me, I’m taking it one step further and turning this into a cardigan.

This is the first time I’ll be cutting my knitting. Ever. And I don’t even have a well designed steek to follow. We’ll see how this goes.

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Oct. 13, 2012
I have a boatload of studying/homework to do today and limited time with a quiet house, but I couldn’t resist starting the day with tacking down the buttonbands, sewing on buttons, and blocking. I referred to Elinor Brown Knits for much to do with the steeking and tacking process. I find this tutorial to be very straightforward and comprehensive to my needs. I’m sewing on the buttons (cheap, but perfect shiny blue plastic) with lovely shiny blue rayon thread…which is a little fragile. At least if I yank on it, it breaks. So crossing fingers that these buttons hold, but I can always re-sew a button if I have to.

Oct. 12, 2013
I did the sewing/cutting back in August, did a line of slip stitch crochet in early September, and now it’s October 12 and I have the itch to pick up the button bands.

First side: I started by picking up one stitch for every row of knitting. I picked up a total of 145 stitches along the right front. I’m going to knit a 2x2 rib button band so I’ll keep the stitches at a 1:1 ratio for the first 6 stitches and the last 7 stitches, and then reduce the remaining 132 stitches to a 3:4 ratio by working 2 stitches then 2 stitches together (p2, p2tog on the first wrong side row). Hopefully I didn’t doom my button band to curling outward by purling the first wrong side row. Hmm.

I think I’ll just do yo buttonholes. The buttons I’m using are only 3/4” so it should be just fine. I’m not picky. I have 9 buttons.

Total button band stitches = 112
Marker placement for buttonholes from bottom up: 1st marker after 4 stitches, each subsequent marker after 13 stitches. Work buttonholes at each marker by doing yo, k2tog.

Buttonhole row was the 9th row (row count includes initial pick up row).

Sept. 2013
Unbelievably, I cut this right up the center and I’m turning it into a cardigan. I hope it works…I’ve never done this before. I used my sewing machine to sew a line up each side of the center where I wanted to cut. After cutting, I made a line of slip stitch crochet up the column of stitches where I want my button bands to start. The line of crochet helps form a turning line for the facing.